Outsourcing Research Proposal

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

"Innovation" A need for BPO Industry th

09 June, 2013

Dinesh Chander (Roll no. 9211848)

Table of Contents Objectives/Research Questions/Hypotheses Definition of Terms Limitations of the Study Basic Assumptions Chapter 2 - Review of Literature (Can have sections deemed necessary) Chapter 3 - Procedures Research Design Subject Selection Outcome Measures Conditions of Testing Treatments Data Analysis Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 3 Background of the Study ........................................................................................................................... 3 Problem Statement ................................................................................................................................... 4 Management Question: ......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Research Questions: ............................................................................................................................. 4 Hypothesis: ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Objectives ................................................................................................................................................. 4 Significance of Study ................................................................................................................................. 5 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................................... 5 Definition of Internal Audit ................................................................................................................... 7 Role of the Internal Auditor in governance .......................................................................................... 7 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................. 8 Research Design .................................................................................................................................... 8 Population ............................................................................................................................................. 8

Research proposal – “ Innovation” a need for BPO Industry

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Sampling and Sampling Technique ....................................................................................................... 8 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Data collection instrument ................................................................................................................. 10 Data Analysis ....................................................................................................................................... 12 Timescale ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Limitations .................................................................................................................................................. 12 References .................................................................................................................................................. 13

Based on my experience and my contacts both in industry and outside it , I believe I can gather enough data for a large sample set to test my hypothesis


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"Innovation" a need for BPO Industry Introduction Indian BPO industry is well placed to drive innovation and be a great example of what needs to happen more broadly in the country. We have scale and global penetration, we have built domain and business knowledge, most companies are resource rich sitting on pile of cash, and most importantly we have great talent. However, as an industry we are perhaps lagging in both the quantum and quality of innovation. It is ironic that the Indian BPO industry that in itself has been a huge, disruptive innovation over the past 20 years has slowed its innovation engine over the past 5 years.

Background of the Study The Indian BPO industry is at a crucial juncture. This industry has been the crown jewel of the India Shining story and one of the few areas where India is truly a global leader. However, industry‟s growth trajectory has hit a few speed bumps in recent years. The economic environment has been challenging, customer needs are becoming more complex, competition is increasing, and technology megatrends like cloud, mobile, big data and social media are changing the rules of the game. Clearly give the combination of these forces, India IT/BPM industry needs to innovate to not just drive the next stage of growth but perhaps also to stay competitive. Recent Survey of 588 shared services and outsourcing executives, studying the current achievements of innovation within BPO, serves up a major does of realism to the global sourcing


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industry: buyers want it, but they are not working effectively with their providers to achieve it. And many buyers and providers are pointing the finger at each other.

Problem Statement Along with the positives of the BPO industry there ex ist several negatives like:1. No work life balance 2. Monotonous schedule and repetitive tasks with no real k nowledge required (Process Driven) 3. No value addition after a certain point 4. Uncertainty with regards to the long term career planning The stated factors degrade the quality of technical skills and creativity quotient in an individual. There exist needs to transform the way this industry works coupled with exploration of further opportunities for the industry.

Research Questions: 1. To find out various strategies adopted by compani es to help their employees to maintain good work-life balance. 2. To find out various present stressful practices and ways to mitigate them through creative inputs from employees.

Hypothesis: 

H0: Employees working in BPO Industry are more stressed than those working in other Industry.



H1: Employees working in BPO Industry are more pleased than those working in other Industry.

Research Design: We have categorized this research as of type descriptive because the study includes surveys and fact finding studies of various kinds. The major purpose of this research is description of the state of affairs or problems as they exists and are faced at present by BPO employees. We have


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no control over the variables; we have only reported what has happened or what is actually happening.

Objectives The objectives of the research project are to: 1. Examine the factors responsible for failing to achieve innovation in BPO. 2. Identify the negative and positive aspects of BPO i ndustry. 3. A right balance between the standardized procedures and scope of creativity at work. 4. To find out various strategies adopted by compani es to help their employees to maintain good work-life balance. 5. To find out various present stressful practices and ways to mitigate them through c reative inputs from employees.

Significance of Study The significance of the study will be to: 1. Improve understanding of the role of BPO Industry in the field of economy and Human Resource Development. 2. Improve literature on BPO Sector in India.

Literature Review Businesses take place by taking the inputs from society in the form of people, capital, resources and gives goods and services as output. These outputs influence the life of people and provide the means of improving the lifestyle. We cannot ignore the effect that the society is largely impacted by businesses of various size and operations. Business process outsourcing is the long term contracting out of non-core business activities to the experts who perform the activities with Research proposal – “ Innovation” a need for BPO Industry

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less cost and more efficiency. Today‟s business spans the entire globe by their overseas operations and thus they leave a visible change in the societies of various geographies. Like the industrial revolution of the 17th century, the BPO revolution has also brought about a variety of changes in the lives of the people. Business process outsourcing is a strategic choice of the companies – when implemented creates numerous advantages such as:

value. A company that outsources is working virtually 24 hrs and catering efficiently to its customers anytime in any part of the world. To enable them working 24 hrs countries like India, Philippines, China etc. diligently work during the nights and ensure better service. Some of the major cities in India where outsourced activities are undertaken are Bangalore, Hyderabad, Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Pune and Jaipur. However, as an industry we are perhaps lagging in both the quantum and quality of innovation. It is ironic that the Indian IT/BPM industry that in itself has been a huge, disruptive innovation over the past 20 years has slowed its innovation engine over the past 5 years. There is minimal differentiation in process and service offerings. There is minimal IP creation and brand building either at the company level or for the industry. And all of this passive behaviour while many companies have a lot of cash on their balance sheets!! There are off course many examples of incremental innovation and of the famous Indian Jugaad at work. However there is little that


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suggests that wide spread systematic innovation is happening. It is precisely this challenge – from Jugaad to Systematic Innovation – that we need to address Definition of Internal Audit Role of the Internal Auditor in governance

The value of the modern day internal auditor lies in his ability to help management to achieve its‟ objectives. According to a research jointly conducted by Deloitte & Touche and the Institute of Internal Auditors, U.K., (2004) “improved attitudes toward internal audit are built on a belief that internal audit functions are creating greater value for their organisations”. Governance refers to all the strategic plans of the organisation to demonstrate its commitment to quality and excellence. They reflect the strategic thinking and orientation of the Board and Management to achieve the objectives of the organisation.

However, every decision and

programme carries with it an element of risk of non-achievement, due to uncertainties associated with the implementation of programs. Some of the risks are reputational, financial, operational, and information technology related. It would therefore be appropriate to have a structured way of identifying events that would impact negatively on the ability of management to achieve their objectives and also to take advantage of opportunities and other events that could be leveraged to achieve those same objectives. i.e. an integrated risk management framework that is embedded in the planning process of the organisations. Internal Auditors are experts in creating and promoting a risk management culture that is necessary to the effective implementation of the risk management framework. They can also assist in monitoring the framework.


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Methodology This section presents an overview of the methods to used in the study. Areas covered include the research design, population, sample and sampling techniques, data collection and analysis. Research Design

The study will involve the evaluating the role of Internal Auditors in the good governance of the organisations in the public sector. Consequently, the research will be designed to achieve the objectives set out by the researcher. Population

The public sector of Ghana is the biggest employer of Internal Auditors and involves several organisations including Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). The public sector also includes Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies MMDAs). The targeted population for the study thus includes the following: 1. Chief Directors and Directors of all MDAs. 2. Coordinating Directors, Finance Officers and other staff of MMDAs. 3.

Heads and staff of internal Audit Depar tments (IADs) of MDAs and MMDAs.

Sampling and Sampling Technique Data Collection Primary Data Questionnaires: (Both by collecting responses personally and also my mailing questionnaires

to distant respondents). Personal Interview Secondary Data

Internet, books on related issues, NASSCOM reports and research reports of various researchers in relevance to our study.


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It obvious from the definition of the population above that a census is not feasible in this study. Accordingly, the researcher will adopt the survey t ype of research in which a sample from the target population will be used for the study. In total, a sample of 185 elements will be selected from a targeted population of 300. Details of the sample are as follows:



15 Chief Directors and 30 Directors of MDAs.

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20 Coordinating Directors, 20 Finance Officers and 20 other staff of MMDAs.



40 Heads of IDAs and 40 Internal Auditors of MDAs and MMDs.

The study will adopt a multistage stratified sampling method to select elements.

First, the

population will be divided into MDAs and MMDAs. Next, the MDAs will be grouped into Ministries, Departments and Agencies and the MMDAs into Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts.

This will ensure a fair representation of each group of institutions since their

operations are significantly different.

Data Collection

The focus of study is on attitudes and perception and the importance of primary data cannot be over-emphasised.

However, secondary data will also be collected to augment the studies.

Before the actual data collect the researcher will collect introductory letter from the School of Business of the University of Cape Coast to the sampled institutions. The initial visit to the selected institutions will therefore be to introduce himself, familiarize himself with those institutions as well as seek their consent for the study.


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Data collection instrument

The researcher will collect data by administering a questionnaire. The questionnaire will use structured questions, consisting of approximately 20 questions divided into three sections „A‟, „B‟, and „C‟. Section „A‟ will consist of seven questions seeking to answer the first research question.

Section „B‟ will consist of six questions covering the second research question

whereas Section „C‟ will consist of questions to test the hypothesis and also answer the third research question. Sample investigative questions:

Table 1 below provides samples of the investigative questions.

Table 1: Sample Investigative Questions

Section Research Question

Investigative Questions 



„A‟

What account for the low support for Internal Audit by public sector managers?









„B‟

„C‟



What actions are necessary to get the support of management of internal auditing in the public sector?

Is there a link between the quality of service the Internal








Are you aware of the role of the Internal Auditor in you organisation? How important do you think is the role of the Internal Auditor to your organisation? In your view, is the Head of Internal Audit placed appropriately on the organisational chart? Generally, how will you rank the relevance of Internal Audit in your organisation? What reasons account for your answer above? What do you consider the three most important actions needed to promote Internal Auditing in the public sector? What do you consider to be the highest achieve of your internal audit department?

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Auditor provides for his organisation and the attitude of managers towards the Internal Audit function?





Would agree to the statement that one‟s perception of the Internal Auditor is influenced by how they perceive his role in the company? Will your attitude towards Internal Audit be different if they help you achieve your objectives?

Most of the structured questions will be the close-ended type and respondents will be asked to mark the appropriate box matching the correct answer. Other questions, however, will require respondents to give opinions.


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Data Analysis

The responses to the structured close-ended questions will be rated in percentages. The percentage of respondents for each alternative will be given and analysed. The data collected will be analysed using the computer software known as Statistical Package for Service Solution (SPSS).

Timescale

June – July 2009: review of literature August 2009: draft literature review September 2009: agree research strategy with supervisor October 2009: agree formal access to organisations for collection of p rimary data November 2009: compile, pilot and review questionnaire December 2009 - January 2010: administer questionnaire February 2010: final collection of questionnaire March 2010: data analysis April – May 2010: final writing of project report.

Limitations The researcher cannot cover all the ten regions of Ghana. The research will therefore be restricted to five out of the ten regions.


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References The Institute of Internal Auditors (the IIA). (2007), The Professional Practices Framework. Florida, U.S.: The IIA Research Foundation. Spencer, P. K. H. (2003), The Internal Auditing Handbook. U.K. City University Press. Deloitte & Touche Enterprise Risk Services & Institute of Internal Auditors – UK and Ireland (2004), The Value Agenda. Available at www.iia.org.uk , (Accessed on 14 April 2009). Internal Audit Agency, Republic of Ghana. (2007), Annual Report to the Office of the President . Accra: the IAA Internal Audit Agency, Republic of Ghana. (2006), Championing Excellence in Universities of Ghana: The Role of the Internal Auditor. A paper presented to the Association of the Internal Auditors of the Universities of Ghana at their annual congress in 2006. Accra: Ransford Agyei, Deputy Director-General. Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2007), Research Methods for Business Students th (4 ed.) Harlow, England: FT Prentice Hall Blumberg, B., Cooper, D.R., and Schindler, P.S. (2005) Business Research Methods, Maidenhead, McGraw-Hill


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Outsourcing Research Proposal

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